Fun on the Boards

[gardencat]

I’ve noticed a lot of posts lately complaining about the ‘tone’ of the board and saying that people are just not enjoying being here any more. Well I’ve given this some thought and I’ve reached some conclusions about this.

 

 

All of us here are lucky to have enough money to cruise, at least occasionally, and enough free time to be able to post on this board and exchange ideas about cruise experiences. You should just be glad that you are fortunate enough to be living such a blessed life, yet here you are complaining because not everybody on the board agrees completely with you!

 

 

You have the freedom to post your opinions, no one is stopping you, and yet you are complaining because the other posters are ‘spoiling the board’ and making it ‘not fun’ for you. A board community is what you make it. I am sure if you approach it with the right attitude you could enjoy this one too however, if you approach it only with the objective of finding things to complain about, it is no wonder that you don’t enjoy it.

 

I have been posting on this board for a while and I have been the victim of some not very nice posts but, because I have a good attitude I am still enjoying it and having fun. If you are not, perhaps you need to look to yourself for the reason.

 

 

Also if you want to keep this board more friendly and a nicer place to be, may I make a suggestion? If you do not agree with someone’s post, or think that something they have said is just plain stupid, instead of just attacking them, your point will probably be better received if you compliment them first, before you criticize them. Find something you like about their post and mention that, before you tell them that you think their basic idea is ridiculous. I’m sure you will find that they are much more likely to agree with you if you approach things in this way.

 

 

Happy posting and remember,

 

A bad day on the board is better than a good day digging ditches!

[sodell]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

btw... new cat?

[gardencat]

sodell

This is my evil black cat (warning anyone sensitive don't read the next line.) He wanders around the garden biting the heads off mice.

 

I thought his personality was a better match for the mood of the board lately than my cute little calico.

[sodell]

And you thought we didn't notice.

[JuniorCruiser]

AMEN!!!! With everything else that's going on this world it sure would be nice to be able to come here and share our experiences with cruising instead of bickering about the little stuff. Happy Cruising Everyone.......

 

~~Debbie~~

[karfest]

Well said, Gardencat- and I can't believe I just said that!! We sometimes get just a tad too excited for our own good. As much as many of your posts have annoyed me, perhaps the one thing that made me laugh the loudest was your post explaining that you are not really a cat:)

 

Everyday I consider myself lucky to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. Well, one outta three ain't bad...

 

Is it time to start anew? I'll play nice.

[dorothyl]

Gardencat

 

Thanks for your post.It certainly puts everything into percpective.My husband and I are sailing in Sept on the Dawn.We are flying into NYC on the morning we sail.We are spending a great deal of money on this trip.

We have wanted to cruise for years but life got in the way,also I am terrified of flying and scared of deep water and it has prevented us from doing what we wanted.We generally drive to Disney with our kids,or through Canada.

 

5 months ago my youger sister was diagnosed with a rare cancer(carcinoid tumors) in her stomach and 2 weeks ago in her liver.I also was diagnosed with this in a very early and benign dormant stage that just requires monitoring for now and may never develop or grow, or it might,who knows?I am much luckier than my sister.

 

Therefore I have stopped letting the little things bother me,and am doing everything I ever wanted to do(within affordability)and am thankful for all I have.I am no Pollyanna but I am telling ya it certainly changes a persons tolerance and acceptance abilities.I have learned much from this board and the negatives and positives will help me create a trip of a lifetime(memories).

For that I am also thankful.When this cruise is over and if I have enjoyed it as much as I think I will next year i will take my kids.I can't wait.Only 56 more days!

[cnmiranda]

Well since you've talked about your beautiful cat again, I just wanted to share some more stories. "Bella" is also a fierce hunter. When she knows we are gone she likes to leave little presents of caught birds in front of the garage and the back door. Between her and the other 4 cats that used to visit we have quite a graveyard. Animal behavior is fascinating 2 cats were hunters and 3 were not.

 

And, of course, thanks for your comments. This board is a wonderful resource.

 

Best of luck to you Dorothyl and your family.

[romy]

The only hunting my cat has ever done (she's a housecat) is when we lived in Florida. I had rarely seen a roach before and am deathly afraid of them. She would find them long before I did and basically play with them to death!

 

Now that's my kind of hunter!

She longs for the birds through the windows and doors, poor kitty!:D

Happy Sailing!!!!

Romy

[gardencat]

dorothyl

 

I hope you have an absolutely fabulous time on your long awaited vacation and that you love cruising out of NYC it was a real thrill for us to sail past the Statue of Liberty and out to sea. I'll give you one tip (please no one else listen)

On the top deck at the front of the ship there is a hot tub if you don't mind getting up a little early you can nip up there and enjoy cruising into the port while soaking in the tub. You still get a great view and when we went the hot tub was virtually deserted. Hope not too many catch on before your cruise. Of course if you have a private balcony you won't need to do this . We were in an inside.

 

karfest

 

Fine with me to start over, and just in your honour, if I ever run into limp

celery on a cruise I'll try not to complain about it.:D

 

cnmiranda

 

My black cat catches mice but my angelic looking white cat goes for the birds. I really wish she wouldn't but it is just nature, and I really can't stop her.

 

Happy sailing

[gardencat]

dorothyl

Have you done any more planning for your cruise? It is getting closer! Are you doing any shore excursions?:)

[ArkansasFish]

I manage a message board directory and I hang out at many boards. This is one of the better boards!!

I like to hear different opinions even if they are very diferent from my own. I try to learn something from people that are different from me.

[patandcd]

Thanks for sharing Gardencat. It has always been interesting reading your opinions and ideas concerning the issues. :)

[patandcd]

Oh yes,

And we have four outside cats. Tomcat, MommaCat and two kittens. DH feeds them daily to keep them around so we can watch them. My favorite has turned out to be a mean ole tomcat we call "no ears" because he has been in so many fights his ears have been ripped pretty much off. We live in an area where there are real wildcats...we call them bobcats, and they prey on the domesticated cats. We had two housecats when we moved here and learned the hard way that only the toughest survive.....kinda like gardencat?

[Stevie17]

I couldn't agree with you more. The community is just that...a community. It is what we make it.

 

I sometimes just can't figure out why people get their undies in such a bunch on these boards. Let's face it, and the end of the day we're really only talking about A VACATION. There are far more serious issues to get one's dander up about....a cruise ain't one of 'em.

 

I intend to enjoy my board experience.....if others choose to be "big dark clouds" then so be it.

[Stevie17]

I just wanted to chime in again with an experience that we had on our last NCL cruise.

 

We had the opportunity to visit the island of Roatan while on our last cruise. For those of you who have not visited this island, it is rustic and filled with unspoiled, natural beauty. It is also very poverty striken...not uncommon in both many Caribbean islands as well as many parts of Central America. I can honestly say that visiting the town of Coxen Hole and mixing among the locals was a sobering experience. At least for me, it made me again acknowledge how blessed I am to have what I have and to live where I live.

 

I was truly disgusted and appauled by some of my fellow cruisers who, for some reason I will never get, felt the need to express their "disgust" at the conditions that they found in Roatan. They actually made comments such as, "I can't believe that these people live like this." These people. But for the grace of God........

[Host CMLA]

I couldn't agree with you more. The community is just that...a community. It is what we make it.

You're so right Stevie17. I wish that all of the members would remember that and not resort to attacks or name calling. We could even do without personal grudges and agendas. This is cruising after all. Lives aren't at stake. I'm pretty sure that Cruise Critic is a small part of our everyday lives. There's no need to cause hate and discontent on something that should be entertainment.

[cnmiranda]

Yes we are indeed lucky to be able to chat about our cruising opportunities and go on vacation in the first place. Sometimes I feel guilty that life has been so good to us and others have to struggle every day (Roatan). Contributing when one visits those places always makes your heart feel better.

 

Cats: On a much happier subject, my neighbor had set up a rehabilitation cage for the wayward animals attacked by her cats. It doubled as a bird/mouse cage complete with spinning wheel. AKA Animal hospital/hotel. The ritziest accomodations on the block:D

[bragstarr]

All I have to say is:

 

MEEEEEEEE OW!!

Evil black cat...I love watching GardenCat's icon changes--LMAO!

I agree, we should all be grateful we have the chance to be knowledgable about the discussion topic on these boards--cruises!

Robin

[mousecruiser]

I totally agree that this is a wonderful experience for all of us to share.

My Grandmother (whose little two room house had and indoor bathroom put in in 1956) used to tell me "smile and the world smiles with you; frown and the world frowns back".

Translated to these boards -- To to treat everyone they way you would like to be treated in the way we speak to each other. :)

[patandcd]

I’ve noticed a lot of posts lately complaining about the ‘tone’ of the board and saying that people are just not enjoying being here any more. Well I’ve given this some thought and I’ve reached some conclusions about this.

 

Well thanks gardencat,

You have gone from being attacked for speaking your truth to being friends with those who have attacked you. Could I get you to run for President? The country could certainly use your diplomacy and intelligence this day and time.

[patandcd]

Sorry gardencat...good job here...been reading robert fisk tooooooooo long. Keep up the good work.

[jander]

Are you kidding me? Sorry, but I will stick with an American as president of this country. I could express more thoughts, but I will hold my tounge.

[gardencat]

Thanks but I don't think I'll be running for any public office anytime soon, American or Canadian.

I don't mean to start a whole political debate, but it seems to me that being an honest politician these days is getting more and more difficult .

An honest, dedicated politician, in my opinion, needs to tell people the hard truth sometimes, and most people nowadays don't seem to want to listen to unpleasant truths . Seems people would rather be told appealing lies. That makes it difficult for an honest politician to get elected. I'm not saying that there are not some politicians who manage it, but I think it is too challenging a job for me to attempy right now.

I'm just trying to keep CC friendly and open to all opinions.

[DJDQ]

:rolleyes: I only started coming here a few weeks ago when our cruise was booked and was happy to find a place where former cruisers could give me some insight into cruising as I am a total NEWB but as the days went on and the post got uglier I had almost decided to not return because all the complaints were putting a damper on my total and complete excitement of going on my very first cruise and visiting places that I was almost sure that I would never see in my lifetime and to my relief someone decides it is time to rein in a few unhappy posters and I for one thank you for speaking up.(I apologise to all English teachers reading this paragraph for not using proper punctuation or grammer,etc.LOL) My darling Sister is treating me to this cruise and we were a little taken aback and frankly scared by some postings here and began to rethink how very wonderful this trip could be. We have decided to chalk it up to diversity and like I told my sis," I for one would rather know that a shark will eat me before I jump into the water rather than after"- so thank yous also go out to all the naysayers here. I am sure that we will have our own unique experiences as did all of you and I thank you all for sharing yours. May your sails stay full and your socks stay dry. Bon Voyage,:cool: DJDQ